LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 019 744 583 A SUGGESTED COURSE IN ENGLISH FOR HIGH SCHOOLS \ HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY BOaTON NEW YOBK CHICAGO TABLE OF CONTENTS Pags Introduction 1 A FocTE Years' Couese in Litebatuee an© Coarpo- SITION 2 A Thbek Yeabs' Coubse in LrtKaATUBB and Compo- sition . , ... 10 A DeTAJLBD OlTTLINK FOB FlEST YbaB WoEK, WITH Webster's Elementabt Composition as a Basis . 13 A List of Books foe Home Reading 14 A List op Texts in English Sctitable fob Use in High Schools 3d oorer :OPVR,'GnT 1907 l)Y HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. Two Copies Received MAR 15 1907 t-. Copyright Entry CUSS A KXc, No. A SUGGESTED COURSE IN ENGLISH FOR HIGH SCHOOLS High School English, including literature, composition, and rhetoric, is now generally recognized as a unit of study ; and yet too much English work is indefinite and poorly organized, and therefore unsuccessful in proportion to the time and effort expended upon it. No plan for High School English work should be approved which does not call for four or five recitations a week through- out the entire course ; and of these recitations an average of two should be devoted to composition. The course here suggested assumes such a number and arrangement of reci- tations ; is based upon the principle of closely relating the study of literature with the work in composition and rhetoric ; and provides for progressive development and mastery of each of these intimately related divisions of the general subject. All the College Entrance Requirement classics have been prescribed, either for clasS study or for home reading. The order in which these and other classics are to be taken up has been determined by three considerations : The most interesting and readable classics should be studied first ; they should become increasingly complex in structure and thought as the work progresses and power is gained ; and they should be such as will illustrate and furnish models for the work in composition. The essential features of this course have already been adopted in a considerable number of high schools which are now doing exceptionally successful work in English. 1 OUTLINE FOR A FOUR YEARS' COURSE THE FIRST YEAR COURSE COMPOSITION The aim in composition during the first year should be to gain facility and spontaneity of expression. To do this, much composition work must be done. A short paragraph may be written in class two or three times a week on subjects sug- gested to the pupil while on the way to or from school, or while at school. By this method the pupil's powers of obser- vation, as well as of expression, can be developed. Once a week a composition of at least one hundred words should be prepared. Much oral composition may well be introduced as a live part of the literature study. The pupil should be asked ques- tions requiring more than a word or two in answer. Confi- dence, fluency, and ease may be taught by having different pupils reproduce the substance of a paragraph, two or three pages, or even a chapter, from the literature being read in school or at home. Many selections from the poems and sto- ries read should be memorized and frequently recited. Some time during the year, letter writing should be taken up. Punctuation and word study should be taught constantly, and this work can be made interesting and practical by using as a model the literature which is being read. PupUs should be encouraged to select for class discussion especially good examples of vivid description, happy choice of words, and correct use of punctuation in the sentence. The Text-book : Work as suggested above is clearly and fuUy presented in Webster's Elementary Composition. (For a detailed outline of the first year's work as provided for by that book, see page 13 of this pamphlet.) 2 LITERATURE The aim in literature during the first year should be to create a taste for good literature and to stimulate a desire to read. To this end, the literature should hs,ve life and move- ment ; and to make sure that it touches and vitalizes each pupil, it should be varied, containing both poetry and prose, some imaginative, some on nature, and some on human life. As the needs, tastes, and ability of classes vary, and as each teacher can teach some certain classics better than others, a choice of four or five out of the following list should be allowed. Classics : "Warner's A-Hunting of the Deer. Scott's Lady of the Lake. Dickens's Christmas Carol. Whittier's Snow-Bound. Franklin's Autobiography. Irving's Sketch Book. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. Shakespeare's Jvdius Caesar. NOTE : For a list of books suitable for home reading during the first year, see page 14 of this pamphlet. THE SECOND YEAR COURSE The work suggested for the first year has been in a way general. There has been drill in the mechanics of composi- tion, — punctuation, indention, etc. ; a vocabulary has been acquired through word study and literature ; some facility of expression has been attained by means of the constant prac- tice, oral and written. A foundation has been laid. The work should now become more definite and progres- sive. Each semester's work should be more difficult than the preceding, and should be concentrated on a few tangible points which each pupil clearly understands must be mastered in that semester. 3 • J SECOND YEAR: FIRST SEMESTER (^Study of Narration — The Complete Compo- sitioTi) COMPOSITION The aim in composition should still be spontaneity, but stress should be laid on the unity, mass, and coherence of the composition as a whole. The Text-book: The pupils should study "Webster's English: Composition and Literature, Chapters I, II, and III; thoroughly discuss each point in class, and illus- trate each point from the literature being read, from that read during the first year, and from other books that have been read. The Rules for Punctuation (pp. 301-309) should be used for reference and reviews throughout the entire course. Themes : The themes should be essentially narrative, with unity, mass, and coherence as the most important con- siderations. Oral Composition: The oral work of the first year should be continued, and the pupils should be required to present orally to the class good anecdotes and short stories. Previously prepared outlines should occasionally be used for such work. LITERATURE The aim : The literature should be narrative, and mostly short stories, the better to serve as models for the pupils. It should first be studied for appreciation and then to discover the author's method of securing unity, mass, and coherence. Classics : Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales (Selected). Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn, or The Courtship of Miles Standish. Scott's Ivanhoe, or Quentin Durward (to be read mostly at home). Browning's Selected Poems, or Tennyson's Gareth and Lynette, Lancelot and Slaine, and Passing of Arthur. NOTE : For a list of books suitable for home reading during the second year, see page 15 of this pamphlet. 4 SECOND YEAR: LAST SEMESTER QStudy of Description, Paragra'phs, and Figures of Speech) COMPOSITION The aim should be : (1) to secure accuracy of expression through careful study and choice of words ; (2) study of unity, mass, and coherence in paragraphs • (3) study of figures of speech. The study of description is easily and logically com- bined with the study of paragraphs, since pure description is rarely more than a paragraph in length, and descriptive para- graphs are found in nearly all literature. Figures of speech are often used to give added clearness and beauty to a de- scription, and may well be taken up for study at this time. The Text-book : Chapters IV, VII, and X of Webster's English : Composition and Literature should be studied and used for guidance. Themes should be descriptive, with choice of words and arrangement of material in paragraphs as the important points. Oral Composition should include the presentation in class of many brief descriptions, and of short stories containing descriptions of characters and places. LITERATURE The aim should be to develop the pupil's ability to form clear mental pictures ; to lead him to see the value and beauty of clear, well-chosen words and vivid bits of descrip- tion ; and, of course, to acquaint him with some of our best descriptive literature. All descriptive paragraphs in the literature that is read should be carefully studied, and special attention should be given to the author's use of specific words and adherence to the principles of unity, mass, and coherence. Classics : Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse. Goldsmith's Deserted "Village. Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, The Raven, and Other Tales and Poems. Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. 5 THE THIRD YEAR COURSE (^Plot in Narration, Paragraphs, Words : Expo- sition and Sentence, Structure : Versification^ COMPOSITION The aim throughout the third year should be to secure logical thinking and clearness and force of expression. I The work of the first three or four months should include a study of narration with plot (the novel) ; with a critical review and continuation of paragraph study, and special con- sideration of the discriminative use of words. The Text-book : Chapters III, IV, and VII of Web- ster's English : Composition and Literature should be reviewed and used for reference. Chapter IX, dealing with " Words," should be taken up for study. Themes : Pupils should write on varied subjects, giving special care to arrangement of material and choice of words. II After completing the work outlined under I, at least four months should be devoted to study of exposition and sentence structure. Here again the three fundamental principles of rhetoric (unity, mass, and coherence) should be given special consideration. The structure and use of the several rhetori- cal classes of sentences — loose, periodic, balanced — should be studied and discussed. The Text-book : The special subjects now under con- sideration are covered in Chapters V and VIII of Web- ster's English : Composition and Literature. Themes : For practice in expository writing, pupils should be required to prepare at least four essays of from five hun- dred to one thousand words, and several short compositions (the majority of them expository in purpose) on simple, familiar subjects. Ill The last few weeks of the year may be devoted to a study of verse forms, using as text Chapter XI of "Webster's Eng- lish : Composition and Literature. Oral Composition : As logical thinking and clearness of expression are the qualities to be developed in the work of the third year, pupils should be given much drill in pre- paring outlines and speaking from them on subjects taken from their work in literature, history, science, manual train- ing, and domestic science. Friendly criticism on the part of the class should be sought and encouraged. LITERATURE The aim : Reading for appreciation should be the first consideration; but the pupils should discuss the plot and characters of the novel, the development of thought in the essay, the purpose and form of the poem. They should also select good examples of loose, periodic, and balanced sen- tences, such as may be found in the essays they are reading. Classics : Eliot's Silas Marner. Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. I Buskin's Sesame and Lilies, or < Lamb's Essays of Elia. ( Maeaulay's Life of Johnson, or ' Carlyle's Essay on Burns. I Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, and \ Byron's Mazeppa and Prisoner of Chillon, or ^ Palgrave's Golden Treasury (First Series, Book IV). NOTE : For a list of books suitable for home reading during the third year, see page 16 of this pamphlet. THE FOURTH YEAR COURSE {Study of Argumentation : History of English Literature) COMPOSITION The aim throughout the year, as in the third year, should be to secure logical thinking, expressed in carefully chosen words, well-knit sentences, and properly constructed paragraphs. The first semester of the fourth year should be devoted to argumentation. The serious and direct purpose of this form of discourse involves the necessarily careful arrangement of all its parts and makes it especially valuable for teaching and illustrating the principles of unity, mass, and coherence. These principles presented in the study of narration, estab- lished in the study of description, and driven home in the study of exposition, should be clinched in the study of argu- mentation. The Text-book : A clear and full treatment of argumen- tation is given iu Chapter VI of Webster's English : Com- position and Literature. Themes : Two or three arguments of several hundred words each should be required, and in each case a carefully prepared brief should be handed in for criticism before the argument is written. Thought in the selection and arrange- ment of material, in the construction of paragraphs and sen- tences, and in the choice of words, should be emphasized. The work of the last semester should be largely individual °, the aim to strengthen each pupil where he is weak. Compo- sitions may be in any or all of the forms of discourse. Oral Composition : The learning and oral delivery of debates and orations should be made an important part of the work throughout the year. LITERATURE The aim should be a more critical study of style and diction, and a more careful analysis of the best parts of each classic read. Pupils should be led to compare passages, to express opinions, and to enforce these opinions with good reasons. Classics: , Burke's Oonciliation with the Colonies, or ' Webster's First Bunker HUl Oration, and ' ■Washington's Farewell Address. I Chaucer's Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, or ( Spenser's Faerie Queene (Selections). Shakespeare's As You Iiike It, or Henry V, Shakespeare's Macbeth. Milton's Minor Poems. ( De Quincey's Joan of Arc, and the English Mail Coach, or ( Emerson's Essays (Selected). NOTE : For a list of books suitable for home reading during the fourth year, see page 16 of this pamphlet. HISTORY OF LITERATURE After completing the first two or three years of the English course herein outlined, the pupd will have a fairly wide acquaint- ance with individual classics and individual authors, and ability to appreciate and compare these different authors and their styles. He will then be prepared for, and need, a general survey of the entire field of English and American literature, and will take a real interest in discovering the place and relation of the authors with whom he is already familiar. A more or less critical study of the historical development of our literature should accordingly be provided for in the last year, or years, of the course. A suitable text on the History of English (or English and American) Literature ^ should be used for reference and incidental study during the third and fourth years of the course, or for special study in the fourth year. If used in the fourth year only, one period a week during the first semester and one or two a week during the last semester should be sufficient for the necessary study. Daily five-minute drills on dates, writers in each group, charac- teristics of most important authors, atmosphere (social, political, religious) of each period, etc., wiU be found a most valuable help. ^ For a list of suitable texts, see inside back cover of this pamphlet. 9 OUTLINE FOR A THEEE YEARS' COURSE NOTE : There are many high schools in which it may be necessary or advis- able to arrange for a course in English covering but three years. The four years' course outlined on the preceding pages may easily be modified into a three years' course by some rearrangement and condensation of the work wiiich it provides for the third and fourth years. The work for the first and second years should be the same whether three years or four years are allowed for the entire course. FIRST YEAR OF COURSE (Same as in four years' course. See pp. 2-3 and p. 13.) SECOND YEAR OF COURSE (Same as in four years' course. See pp. 3, 4, and 5.) THIRD YEAR: FIRST SEMESTER (^Plot in Narration : Exposition and Sentence Structure^ COMPOSITION The aim throughout this semester should be to secure logical thinking andi clearness and force of expression. The first few weeks may be given to study of plot in nar- ration. The remainder of the semester sbould be devoted to study of exposition and sentence structure. The importance of the three fundamental principles of rhetoric — unity, mass, and coherence — should be emphasized throughout this study. The different rhetorical forms of sentences — loose, periodic, and balanced — should be thoroughly discussed and their dis- tinctive use shown by illustrations drawn from the literature being read. The Text-book : A full treatment of exposition and of sentences will be found in Chapters V and VIII of Web- ster's English : Composition and Literature. Chapter III should be reviewed and frequently consulted while the novel is being studied. Themes : The written and oral work for this semester should correspond in kind to that suggested for third year work in the four years' course (see pp. 6 and 7). It should differ only in amount. 10 LITERATURE The aim : Appreciation should always be the first coa- sideration, but during this semester the pupils should be taught the characteristic features of two types of literature, — the novel and the essay. One typical novel should be read with special attention to its development of plot and characters; but the greater part of the semester should be given to the reading and study of essays. The pupils should discuss the author's style, his development of the thought, his arrangement of material in paragraphs, and his use of loose, periodic, and balanced sentences. Classics : ( Eliot's Silas Marner, or ( Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. 5 Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies, or ( Ijamb's Essays of Elia. Maoaulay's Life of Johnson. THIRD YEAR: SECOND SEMESTER ( Versification : Argumentation and Words} COMPOSITION The aim should be to perfect the work previously started in developing logical thinking and the use of well-knit sen- tences and carefully chosen words. Attention should be concentrated on these three points and on a review of the principles of unity, mass, and coherence, which are so closely allied to them. The rather solid work of this year's course may be relieved to advantage by devoting ttfe first three or four weeks of this semester to a study of verse forms. Then argumentation should be taken up, and a good text-book treatment of the subject read and discussed as an aid to the study and appre- ciation of the argumentative literature prescribed in the list of College Entrance Requirements.^ A specific study of the choice and proper use of words should be an important fea- ture of the work of this semester. > In a three years' course, no attempt should be made to master argumen- tation from the standpoint of composition study and practice. 11 The Text-book : A full discussion of " verse forms," of " argumentation," and of " words " will be found in Chapters XI, VI, and IX, respectively, of Webster's English: Com- position and Literature. Themes : The composition practice for this semester should be selected and arranged by the teacher with special regard to the need and ability of the pupils in the class. It should provide for additional practice in narration, descrip- tion, or exposition, as required ; and may also include a few brief and simple written arguments and oral debates on sub- jects with which the pupils are thoroughly familiar. LITERATURE The aim should be increased development of the pupil's ability to read carefully and appreciate keenly. To accom- plish this purpose, only the greatest poems, the best orations, and the best dramas should be read. Classics : Palgrave's Golden Treasury, First Series, Book IV (or other suitable collection of verse). / Burke's Conciliation with the Colonies, or < Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration and ' "Washington's Farewell Address. Shakespeare's Macbeth. Milton's Minor Poems. HISTORY OF LITERATURE Only a brief "History of English Literature," i if any, should be used in a three years' course in English. The lim- ited time of such a course should be devoted to a study of literature itself rather than to study about literature. ^ Tappan's Short History of England''s Literature will be found especially suitable for such a course. See inside back cover of this pamphlet. 12 DETAILED OUTLINE FOR FIRST YEAR ENGLISH WORK BASED ON WEBSTER'S ELEMENTARY COMPOSITION FIRST SEMESTER I. FORMS OF COMPOSITION (a) QuotatioDs, Capital Letters, and Marks of Punctua- tion, pp. 1-22. (b) Rules for Punctuation, pp. 317, 318- (c) Paragraphs, pp. 25-75. 1. Topic Sentences. 2. Length. 3. Unity. (d) Sentences, pp. 75-145. 1. Synonyms, Antonyms. 2. Figures of Speech. 3. Unity of Sentences. (e) Letter Writing, pp. 264-292. II. COMPOSITION WRITING, pp. 145-178. (a) Choice of Subject. 1. Knowledge of Subject. 2. Interest in Subject. (b) Length of Essay. (c) Condensation. (d) Proportion. SECOND SEMESTER I. DEFINITION AND GENERAL DISCUSSION OF NARRATION, pp. 178-205. (a) Unity — Arrangement. (b) The Main Incident. (c) Consistency. (d) The Beginning of a Story. II. DEFINITION AND GENERAL DISCUSSION OF DESCRIPTION, pp. 205-239. (a) Value of Observation 1. The Point of View. (b) Unity and Feeling. 13 (c) Details. 1. Number of Details. 2. Arrangement of Details. III. DEFINITION AND GENERAL DISCUSSION OF EXPOSITION, pp. 239-264. (a) Value of Outlines. (b) Value of Repetition. 1. Repetition by Examples. 2. Repetition by Analogy. The text-book contains a number of complete literature selec- tions ; including Hawthorne's " The Great Stone Face," Hunt's " Abou Ben Adhem," Wordsworth's " To the Daisy," Bryant's "The Yellow Violet," Lowell's "The Heritage," Browning's " Herv6 Riel," Tennyson's " The Bee and the Flower," and Lincoln's "Gettysburg Speech." Other classics as indicated on page 3 of this pamphlet should be read during the year. A LIST OF BOOKS FOR HOME READING In choosing the books for home reading, especially those for the first year, four considerations have been kept in mind : — 1. That the books should be so simple and interesting that the pupil will wish to read them ; 2. That the most of the books should be those with which the teacher is thoroughly familiar, in order that he may assist the pupil in choosing and may be able to discuss the books with the pupil ; 3. That the books should be those usually fomid in the average school or public library, or at least, books which are easUy available; 4. That the books should in every case be good literature, — books of recog- nized literary merit, and written by well known, reputable authors. The following list is, of course, only suggestive. It may well be doubled in size in order that the element of choice may make the reading more of a pleasure and less of a task to the pupil. Five books at least should be read each year, and if the books are of the right kind — books that appeal to the pupil — one a month will not be found excessive. FIRST YEAR 1. Aldrich : The Story of a Bad Boy. 2. Austin : Betty Alden. 14 3. Brown : 4. Cooper : 5. Davis : 6. Dickens : 7. Dodge: 8. Hale: 9. Hughes : 10. Irving: 11. Kingsley : 12. Kipling: 13. Kipling: 14. London: 15. Roosevelt: 16. Seton : 17. Stevenson : 18. Stevenson: 19. Warner : 20. Wiggin: 1. Arnold: 2. Austin : 3. Blackmore : 4. Bunyan : 5. Burroughs: 6. Dana: 7. Dickens : 8. Dickens: 9. Gaskell : 10. Homer : 11. Homer : 12. Irving: 13. Lytton: 14. Lytton : 1,5. Maclaren : 16. Scott: 17. Scott: 18. Stevenson 19. Swift: 20. Wallace : Rab and his Friends. The Last of the Mohicans. Gallagher. The Cricket on the Hearth. Hans Brinker. The Man without a Country. Tom Brown at Rugby. Tales of a Traveller. Westward, Ho ! The Jungle Book. Wee Willie Winkie and Eaa, Baa, Black Sheep. The Call of the Wild. The Winning of the West. Wild Animals I Have Known. Kidnapped. Treasure Island. Being a Boy. Polly Oliver's Problem. SECOND YEAR Sohrab and Rustum. Standish of Standlsh. Lorna Doone. Pilgrim's Progress. Pepacton. Two Years before the Mast. A Tale of Two Cities. Oliver Twist. Cranford. Iliad. Odyssey. Alhambra. Rienzi. The Last Days of Pompeii. Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. Quentin Durward, or Ivanhoe. Marmion. Travels with a Donkey. Gulliver's Travels. Ben-Hur. 15 THIRD YEAR 1. Bacon: Essays. 2. Curtis : Prue and I. 3. Dickens : David Copperfield. 4. Dickens : Nicholas Nickleby. 5. Eliot : Adam Bede. 6. Goldsmith : The Vicar of Wakefield. 7. Hawthorne : The House of the Seven Gables. 8. Holmes : Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. 9. Holmes : Elsie Venner. 10. Hugo : Les Mis^rables. 11. Irving ; The Life of Oliver Goldsmith. 12. Lowell : The Biglow Papers. 13. Pope : The Kape of the Lock. 14. Scott: Kenilworth. 15. Shakespeare : As you Like It, or Twelfth Night. 16. Stevenson : Virginibus Puerisque. 17. Tennyson : The Princess. 18. Thackeray : Henry Esmond. 19. Warner : Backlog Studies. 20. Warner : My Summer in a Garden. FOURTH YEAR 1. Austen : Pride and Prejudice. 2. Carlyle : Heroes and Hero Worship. 3. Chaucer : The Canterbury Tales. 4. De Quincey : Joan of Arc, and The English Mail Coach. 5. Eliot : Romola. 6. Eliot : The Mill on the Floss. 7. Emerson : Self-Reliance, and Other Essays. 8. Goldsmith : She Stoops to Conquer. 9. Hawthorne : The Marble Faun. 10. Lcwell : Democracy, and Other Essays. 11. Riis : How the Other Half Lives. 12. Scott: Waverly. 13. Schurz : Abraham Lincoln. 14. Shakespeare : Hamlet ; or King Lear. 15. Shakespeare : Henry V, or Richard HL 16. Sheridan : The Rivals. 17. Spenser : The Faerie Queene. 18. Thackeray : Vanity Fair. 19. Thoreau: Walden. 20. Webster : Reply to Hayne. 16 TEXTS IN ENGLISH FOR HIGH SCHOOLS COMPOSITION, RHETORIC, AND LITERATURE Elementary Composition, by W. F. Webster, Principal of the East Side High School, Minneapolis, Minn. 324 pages, 65 cents net. English : Composition and Literature, by W. F. Web- ster. Cromi 8vo, savi + 318 pages, half leather, 90 cents net. HISTORY OF LITERATURE A Short History of England's Litetature, by Eva March Tappan, Ph. D., formerly of the English Department, English High School, Worcester, Mass. Crown 8vo, 256 pages, 85 cents net. A Short History of England's and America's Liter- ature, by Eva March Tappan, Ph. D. Crown 8vo, xix + 420 pages, $1.20 net. A Short History of America's Literature, by Eva Maich Tappan, Ph. D. (In preparation.). A Students' History of English Literature, by WUliam Edward Simonds, Ph. D., Professor of English Literature in Knox College, Galesburg, 111. Crown 8vo, ix -f- 483 « pages, $1.25 net. A Primer of American Literature, by Charles F, Rich- ardson, Professor of English in Dartmouth College. ISuio, Ti + 140 pages, 35 cents net. A Students' History of American Literature, by Wil- liam Edward Simonds, Ph. D. (In preparation.) Detailed information regarding any of the above named texts will be furnished on application. HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 4 Pabk St., Boston ; 86 Fifth Ave., New York 378-388 Wabash Ave., Chicago